Passive-type treadmill

ABSTRACT

A passive-type treadmill is disclosed which includes a closed-loop belt rolling around two spaced apart rollers for providing a substantially horizontal running platform, a first and a second support-rail parallel to each other, rigidly coupled to a frame of the running platform and extended upward, a first and a second handrail adjustably attached to the first and the second support rail, respectively, and a first and a second handle protruding from the first and the second handrail, respectively, the first and the second handle being separated and positioned in front of a user at approximately his or her shoulder height in operation by adjusting the first and the second hardrail.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/818,750, filed 21 Nov. 2017, entitled “PASSIVE-TYPETREADMILL”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to a physical exerciseapparatus, and, more particularly, to a passive-type treadmill.

Treadmills are widely utilized for performing vigorous exercise indoorsand at a stationary position. Such treadmills typically include anelongated closed-loop belt driven by rollers and supported by anunderlying rigid deck. The rollers are often driven by an electricmotor, typically at an adjustable speed. However, such motorizedtreadmills are often noisy as a runner pounds the running deck, and canbe dangerous if the runner lost a step. What desired is a treadmill thatis both quiet and safe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a side-view of a passive-type treadmill according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a passive-type treadmill according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a towel rack structure for the treadmill of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a load control structure for the treadmill of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative passive-type treadmill according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates yet another alternative passive-type treadmillaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification areincluded to depict certain aspects of the invention. A clearerconception of the invention, and of the components and operation ofsystems provided with the invention, will become more readily apparentby referring to the exemplary, and therefore non-limiting, embodimentsillustrated in the drawings, wherein like reference numbers (if theyoccur in more than one view) designate the same elements. The inventionmay be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawingsin combination with the description presented herein.

DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a passive-type treadmill. A preferredembodiment of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter withreference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side-view of a passive-type treadmill 110 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. A person 102 walks on platform 122leaning slightly forward supporting his upper body with his hands on ahandrail 142. The platform 122 is covered by a closed-loop belt rollsaround two spaced apart rollers 125 and 128. The belt is supported by asubstantially rigid deck (not shown). According to embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the rollers 125 and 128 is not motorized, so thatthe person 102 uses his feet to push the belt backward for exercisepurposes.

As shown in FIG. 1, the platform 122 is mounted to a frame 115. Asupport member 132 for the handrail 142 is also mounted to the frame115. The connections between the support member 132 and the frame 115 aswell as the handrail 142 are substantially rigid. As shown in FIG. 1,the handrail has two sections 142 and 145. The handrail section 145 isrelatively horizontal oriented compared to the handrail section 142. Thereason for the handrail section 142's more upright orientation isbecause the person 102 pushes against the handrail section 142 duringexercise, so that the closed-loop belt can roll clockwise referring toFIG. 1. In embodiments, an angle between the handrail section 142 and asurface of the platform 122, Φ, is larger than 45 degrees and preferablyabout 60 degrees.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a passive-type treadmill according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. A running or walking platform 222is mounted to frames 215 and 217, which are rigidly connected to supportmembers 232 and 234. The support members 232 and 234 are extended toupright handrails 242 and 244, respectively. The handrails 242 and 244are connected by a horizontal bar 251. As users of the treadmill mayhave different height, and the same user may want to switch handpositions, the treadmill of the present disclosure also provideshorizontal handles 262 connected between the handrail 242 and a handrail254. The handrail 254 is substantially parallel to the handrail 242 andan end of the handrail 254 is connected to the horizontal bar 251.Similarly, horizontal handles 264 are connected between the handrail 244and a handrail 258. The handrail 258 is substantially parallel to thehandrail 244, and an end of the handrail 258 is also connected to thehorizontal bar 251. There is a gap between the handrails 254 and 258, sothat a treadmill user's frontal view will not be blocked. Inembodiments, the support members 232 and 234, the handrails 242, 244,254 and 258, the horizontal bar 251 and the handles 262 and 264 are madeof steels and connected by welding.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the treadmill of the present disclosure alsoprovides rods 272 and 274 for stretching out a towel 277 in front of auser (not shown) to catch sweat. Providing the towel 277 is advantageousbecause the user may have to use both hands to hold onto the handles 262and 264, and it will not be easy for the user to use a hand to wipe offsweat during exercise.

FIG. 3 illustrates a towel rack structure for the treadmill of thepresent disclosure. The towel rack structure includes a rod 272 insertedin a hole 315 through a mounting member 312. The rod 272 canfrictionally slide in and out of the hole 315 to accommodate differenttowel sizes. The mounting member 312 is attached to the support member232. In embodiments, the mounting member 312 can pivot around a pin 325,and be locked at a certain position. As a result, the rod 272 can beheld at a substantially horizontal position during an exercise session,and be held at a substantially vertical position when the treadmill isnot used. In an embodiment, the pin 325 has threads in one end for beingscrewed into the support member 232.

Referring again to FIG. 3, a clip 342 is provided on the support member232 near the mounting member 312, and another clip 352 is provided to anear end of the rod 272. The clip 342 is exemplarily attached to thesupport member 232 by a rivet 345. The clip 352 is exemplarily attachedto the rod 272 by a rivet 355. Alternatively, the clip 342 can beattached to a far end of the rod 272 instead. The clips 342 and 352 canbe used to secure a towel to the rod 272.

Although FIG. 3 illustrates only one half of the towel rack structure,an ordinary skilled in the art would recognize that the other half ofthe towel rack structure can be symmetric to the structure shown in FIG.3.

FIG. 4 illustrates a load control structure for the treadmill of thepresent disclosure. A part of a closed-loop belt 402 is shown around theroller 125. The belt 402 frictionally engages the roller 125, i.e., whena top portion of the belt 402 moves backward under the push from a user,the roller 125 rotates around a shaft 415 in a clockwise direction. Theshaft 415 engages a load control device 435 through a taut cable 422, sothat the load control device 435 can apply variable load to the belt402. As shown in FIG. 4, with the use of the taut cable 422, the loadcontrol device 435 can be mounted higher than the roller 125, which canthen be mounted as close to the ground 400 as possible. In embodiments,a gap between a lower portion of the belt 402 and the ground can bemaintained at approximately 10 millimeters.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative passive-type treadmill 502 accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure. The passive-type treadmill502 has a pair of upright support-rails 512 and 514 rigidly mounted tothe frames 215 and 217, respectively. In an embodiment, thesupport-rails 512 and 514 are substantially parallel to each other andhave substantially the same length and are connected by a substantiallyhorizontal bar 540 which serves to maintain rigidity of the structure.An exercise monitor 552 is exemplarily mounted to the horizontal bar540. As shown in FIG. 5, the support-rails 512 and 514 exemplarily leanforward by, e.g., 10 degrees.

Referring to FIG. 5 again, a handrail 523 is extended upward from thesupport-rail 512. A handle 534 is mounted perpendicularly to and near atop of the handrail 523. In an embodiment, both the support-rails 512and the handrail 523 have a rectangular cross-section with the handrail523's cross-section slight smaller than that of the support-rail 512, sothat the former can be inserted in the later. As both the handrail 523and the support-rail 512 are substantially straight, the handrail 523can slide up and down for adjusting a height of the handle 534 so thatthe handle 534 is positioned at approximately shoulder height of a user.In an embodiment, the handrail 523 can be locked into a position by aspring-loaded pin secured thereto and can be inserted into one of theholes 517 positioned along a length of the support-rail 512. A user canpress in the spring-loaded pin to unlock the handrail 523 to allow it toslide along the length of the support-rail 512.

Similarly, a handrail 525 is slidably engaged with the support-rail 514,and a handle 536 is mounted near a top of the handrail 525. Inembodiments, the handrails 523 and 525 have approximately the samelength. In an embodiment, the handles 534 and 536 are parallel to eachother but are separated so that when the handrails 523 and 525 arelowered, the handles 534 and 536 will not interfere with the exercisemonitor 552. In operation, the handles 534 and 536 are positionedapproximately in the same straight line.

FIG. 6 illustrates yet another alternative passive-type treadmill 602according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The passive-typetreadmill 602 has a pair of handrails 642 and 646 coupled to thesupport-rails 512 and 514 through a pair of mounting plates 623 and 626,respectively. The mounting plate 623 is exemplarily welded to a top ofthe support-rail 512. The handrail 642 is pivotally attached to themounting plate 623 by a pin 631 which is securely inserted in a hole onthe mounting plate 623 and a hole near a first end of the handrail 642,so that the handrail 642 can rotate around the pin 631. In order tosecure the handrail 642 to a desired position, a screw 612 is insertedin one of a plurality of positioning holes 634 in the mounting plate 623and tightly screwed into a hole in the handrail 642. A handle 653 forbeing held by a user's left hand is exemplarily welded to a second endof the handrail 642 opposite to the first end. Keeping the handrail 642rotatable is to fit the treadmill 602 for users of different heights.

Similarly, the handrail 646 is pivotally attached to the mounting plate626 by a pin 635 and secured to a desired position by a screw (notshown) through one of a plurality of positioning holes 638 in themounting plate 626. The mounting plate 626 is exemplarily welded thesupport-rail 514. A right-hand handle 657 is exemplarily welded to anend of the handrail 646 opposite to a pivotal end thereof.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodiedin one or more specific examples, it is nevertheless not intended to belimited to the details shown, since various modifications and structuralchanges may be made therein without departing from the spirit of theinvention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construedbroadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention, asset forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A passive-type treadmill comprising: aclosed-loop belt rolling around two spaced apart rollers for providing asubstantially horizontal running platform; a first and a secondsupport-rail parallel to each other, rigidly coupled to a frame of therunning platform and extended upward; a first and a second handrailadjustably attached to the first and the second support rail,respectively; and a first and a second handle protruding from the firstand the second handrail, respectively, the first and the second handlebeing separated and positioned in front of a user at approximately hisor her shoulder height in operation by adjusting the first and thesecond handrail.
 2. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1 furthercomprising a substantially horizontal crossbar connected between thefirst and the second support-rail.
 3. The passive-type treadmill ofclaim 2 further comprising an exercise monitor mounted on the crossbar.4. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1, wherein the first and secondsupport-rail have approximately the same length.
 5. The passive-typetreadmill of claim 1, wherein the first and second handrail haveapproximately the same length.
 6. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1,wherein the adjustably attached includes the first and the secondhandrail slidably engaging the first and the second support-rail,respectively.
 7. The passive-type treadmill of claim 6, wherein thefirst and the second support-rail lean forward by a predetermined angle.8. The passive-type treadmill of claim 6 further comprising a firstspring-loaded pin attached to the first handrail and capable of beinginserted into one of a first plurality of holes on the firstsupport-rail for locking the first handrail to a desired position of thefirst support-rail; and a second spring-loaded pin attached to thesecond handrail and capable of being inserted into one of a secondplurality of holes on the second support-rail for locking the secondhandrail to a desired position of the second support-rail.
 9. Thepassive-type treadmill of claim 8, wherein the first and the secondplurality of holes have the same number of holes and each hole in thefirst plurality of holes horizontally corresponds a hole in the secondplurality of holes.
 10. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1, whereinthe adjustably attached includes the first and the second handrailpivotally engaging the first and the second support-rail, respectively.11. The passive-type treadmill of claim 10 further comprising a firstand a second mounting plate rigidly connected to the first and secondsupport-rail, respectively, with the first and the second handrailpivotally attached to the first and the second mounting plate,respectively.
 12. The passive-type treadmill of claim 11 furthercomprising a first pin securely inserted in a hole in the first mountingplate and a hole in the first handrail, wherein the first handrail canrotate around the first pin; and a second pin securely inserted in ahole in the second mounting plate and a hole in the second handrail,wherein the second handrail can rotate around the second pin.
 13. Thepassive-type treadmill of claim 12 further comprising a first screwfastening the first mounting plate to the first handrail through one ofa plurality of holes in the first mounting plate; and a second screwfastening the second mounting plate to the second handrail through oneof a plurality of holes in the second mounting plate.
 14. Thepassive-type treadmill of claim 1, wherein the first and the secondhandrail are substantially parallel to each other.
 15. The passive-typetreadmill of claim 1, wherein the first and second handle are aligned insubstantially the same straight line.
 16. The passive-type treadmill ofclaim 1, wherein the first and the second handle are substantiallyparallel to the running platform.
 17. The passive-type treadmill ofclaim 1, wherein the first handle is substantially perpendicular to thefirst handrail; and the second handle is substantially perpendicular tothe second handrail.
 18. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1, whereinone of the rollers is coupled to a load control device
 19. Thepassive-type treadmill of claim 17, wherein the load control deviceoperates in a principle selected from the group consisting of wind,magnet and friction.